We're Finally Here!

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We're finally here! And it's a blast! Started off kinda rocky at the airport in St. John's...why?...well, I was a little over on my baggage weight allowance...try $70 worth! So, I quickly decided that I didn't need that small suitcase afterall! Kerri and Julie had to "streamline" their suitcases as well, and Kerri's mom took what we couldn't fit in - God love her...if she wasn't there we would have had to pay! Anyway, so after a few tense minutes of wondering what to do, we finally go everything checked in...and justin the nick of time, because the place started filling up quickly - and Jenelle was the one who said we were going way too early! Grabbed some Tim's (cookies and juice), and headed upstairs to go through security - I got on through without a hitch, but Jenelle's belt and watch set teh alarm off, and then Kerri had to take some things out of her bag for search, nothing too traumatic, though. We waited for what seemed like hours, and finally got the chance to board. We actually had to go outside on the tarmak and walk up the stairs to get on. I luckily ended up with a window seat. Though the plane was larger than I'd been on before (A310), there wasn't any more room than I remembered - really cramped space...next time I'm flying "club class"! So, there we are sitting on the tarmak just waiting to start rolling, but we had to wait on deicing, and the flight manifest was late coming so we couldn't take off for an hour! I was starting to get a little annoyed, mostly due to the fact that I was so tired and uncomfortable. But, finally at 6:00 a.m. we took off into the great blue yonder! The ride was fairly smooth, although we did hit some turbulance over Nova Scotia and then again over Bermuda, but all in all it was ok. It was impossible to get any deep sleep, but we all managed to get a cat nap here and there. After a while in the air they served breakfast which consisted of a breakfast sandwich (a hardly edible version of an Egg McMuffin with some sort of tomato sauce on it!), a fruit cup, and juice. I ate every last bite as I was starving at this point. So, skip to our approach over Puerto Plata. It was awesome when we came through the clouds to see the beach and palm trees and resorts below us, and we come so close to landing on the beach! Actually, the airport is very near the ocean, and I was very amazed at its condition - very well kept, clean, and modern - almost as nice as St. John's new "do". Went through customs fairly quickly and I finally got my passport stamped! (I know, I know - I shouldn't be so excited about a stamp, but I am! Humour me! lol). My bag was easy to spot, as I had predicted - that's why I wanted it afterall! Jenelle got her's quick, too - Julie and Kerri only had to wait a few more minutes longer. Boarded our tour bus and were off. It was airconditioned, thankfully, and the "tour guide", Francis, and porter, Jose, were HOT - and I don't mean temperature! Certainly made the ride a lot more interesting! We drove through Sosua on the way to the Casa Marina Reef resort to drop off that crowd - the town is small and very run-down and poverty-stricken, though it was sort of funny to see tiny shacks juxtopositioned next to huge mulit-million dollar resorts. The people here drive like maniacs, and I thought I had seen it all in the South West Arm! lol There is an unwritten rule here that the bigger the vehicle the more right of way it has - and boy do they mean it! I actually feared for the lives of some guys on motorcycle who we nearly took out! And, just like Cuba, lining the bumpy roads were various livestock, such as cows, horses, chickens, etc. - they just roam about. We finally arrived at our resort (SuperClubs Breezes Puerto Plata) and it was sweltering! Checked-in, but surprise surprise our rooms weren't ready yet, as check-in isn't until 3:00 p.m. No worries, we got our bracelets and headed to the lobby bar! A few strawberry and banana daiquiri's later (at around 10:00 a.m.) we all showed signs of the beginning of sunburns - especially me! We met with out tour rep, and then headed to Jimmy's Buffet for some eat's - alright selection, though I think I was overhungry and overtired so we just really picked at our plates. Lid around the pool on loungers while we waited for our room, and finally we headed over there. Building 11 - kinda run-down looking, but pretty clean and spacious. They delivered a plate of fresh fruit and a bottle of rum to us, so that was nice, and in the mini-fridge we found water, and old-fashioned bottles of coke - after a while we found the bottle opener attached to the fridge! Got a nice view from the patio overlooking the garden and golf green - I knew the ebach was too much to ask for. But, as far as I know we have hot water! (I had e-mailed ahead of time with my concerns, and brought the reply with me to show in case I had any problems, but I didn't as I saw on our check-in slip my requests...all you have to do is ask!) The staff seem really friendly, and they are flirty, but nothing too weird, just nice. We just got back from the beach, and it's a red flag day, so no swimming for us - even if I wanted to! The waves are crashing in. The beach is alright, considering it's brown sand, but it's soft...and it's not rocks like home! Lots of palm "huts" and loungers around, too. There are a lot fo young people here, and almost all are Newf's - you can so tell, because as you walk past you can overhear them saying "eh b'ye"! Hilarious! Anyways, so I'm going to grab a quick shower before heading off to dinner - we're just going to do the buffet thing again and then make our reservations for the a la carte restaurants for later on in the week, working around our tour schedule. Oh yeah, we did book a tour afterall, an all-day tour that starts at OceanWorld (dolphins, etc.) then the rest of the day on a catamaran with snorkelling, booze, music, and beaches - what more can you ask for?! (I won't tell you the price!) So, I will sign off for now, and hopefully I'll get a chance to write tomorrow and maybe download some pictures. I'll be checking my e-mail, too.

Hola!

Leanne

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